Intense, stylistic action ride with a weighty, emotional undercurrent

Rating: 9/10 (5 September 2015)

Reviewed September 5th, 2015 - 4th viewing (Blu-ray 2D-1st)
Rich and brilliantly shot, you are immediately captivated by the dystopian premise and artistic set pieces. Questions of science, progress, and ethics enthrall the viewer from the start, and the chemistry between the leads, Lincoln Six-Echo (Ewan McGregor) and Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlett Johansson) is immediately apparent. You embark on a ride with the two of them, equally enamored with the world they live in and the science behind the fiction. I love films that not only allow us to question the established societal norms, but to convey the importance of thinking for ourselves, never allowing ourselves to trust merely for the sake of it. Even authority figures or educated professionals can be wrong, and we must always look to our own intuition and trust our instincts to drive our own lives.
The supporting cast is amazing as well, adding both gravity and levity driving the plot along. My fascination with the potential for automation and medical advances was coupled with the weight of seeing how some of our own basic human rights were deprived, serving to establish a firm attachment to our characters. Scarlett does a superb job transitioning from naïve and helpless to driven and self-reliant, propelled by her trust and faith in her best friend Lincoln, who she comes to realize through the journey they inevitably find themselves on means so much more. I also enjoyed the foresight regarding the fight simulation sequence as to lend more credibility to her character's rapid development. I can't help but think her performance in this film drove Marvel to see her potential as the iconic Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff—I could not be more impressed with her growth.
Normally I cringe at the prospect of the same actor playing two different people, but Ewan's performances were so well done you never gave it a second thought. Between the accent and his affection and protective instincts for Jordan, he sold that scene—truly impressive. The locations lent a certain gravitas and believability to the stark differences between their simulated world and the real one. I thoroughly enjoyed the snake scene, as they would of course be like children in regard to danger with animals and scenarios they've never been exposed to—another feat accomplished by their stellar acting.
The film poses a number of provocative questions about humanity and ethics, and whether or not something created from your own DNA could be classified as property. This is an interesting topic as currently, the law views pets (living creatures) as property, and as such, for example in the event of an untimely death, the owner is only entitled for the purchase price of their beloved pet. At any rate, I find the entire premise an interesting lesson in ethics as we are currently standing on the precipice of progress in that this "science fiction" could be on the verge of reality as we speak. As far as the argument that this would never be allowed to come to pass given government regulation, these people do not understand that money drives the world, and for the salary these people are given and the fact that they work in an old military bunker deep underground, there is little motivation or opportunity to speak out if they want to live.
While some of the action sequences are improbable, they are so spectacularly done, it is hard to care. Sure, the truck driver would've pulled over after the first metal dumbbell fell onto an oncoming car, and the highly trained mercenaries probably wouldn't have shot the sign down, but in reality, people do dumb things, so I'm not sure how much weight that argument carries. And I personally found the mercenary Albert's change of heart as he came to know the truth behind the job was another superb representation of choosing humanity above all else, which was in essence the theme of the film. The decision was completely in character based on what his family suffered, and I did not find this predictable in the least.
Other than the intense action scenes, you could hardly tell this was a Michael Bay film—it was so rich and stylized and genuine. Sure, it still contained his trademark explosions and pizazz, but it held a powerful message locked inside a beating heart, and I truly was left feeling satisfied in a way I cannot quite explain. It fires on all cylinders, providing something for all caches, both realized and unrealized: the intelligent thinker, the brooding romantic, the skeptical believer, and the adrenaline junkie. It is his best work by far, and I can only hope this will not be the last of its kind. I'm not sure why others choose to fault Bay for his directorial style and wide-sweeping low angle shots when they serve to convey the emotion behind the sequence. The man is great at what he does, so give credit where credit is due. By the end of the film, I felt as though I had lived through the events with them, and that is nothing short of a marvelous accomplishment in my book. My only real complaint would be product placement, but few action movies are devoid of it, so it hardly seems a noteworthy point.
I was so incredibly stupefied and sated, I was ready to watch it again the very next day, seeking out the thrill ride and emotional weight that left me feeling so elated by the end. That very rarely happens to me with the volume of films I watch and am amazed I have not given it more viewings to date. I cannot recommend this film enough!
FINAL VERDICT: A mind-blowing thrill ride sitting atop a large-scale, stylistic set piece supported by some of the very best acting talent with an intelligence and emotional depth that few films achieve, this movie WILL NOT DISAPPOINT.
9.0 of 10.0